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A History of Art for Beginners and Students: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture
A History of Art for Beginners and Students - Painting, Sculpture, Architecture by Clara Erskine Clement - The Original Classic Edition Finally available, a high quality book of the original classic edition.
This is a new and freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you.
Enjoy this classic work today. These selected paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside:
They had no knowledge of what we call perspective, that is, the art of representing a variety of objects on one flat surface, and making them appear to be at different distances from us-and you will see from the illustrations given here that their drawing and their manner of expressing the meaning of what they painted were very crude.
...There are writers who trace the origin and progress of Greek painting from the very earliest times; but I shall begin with Apollodorus, who is spoken of as the first Greek painter worthy of fame, because he was the first one who knew how to make his pictures appear to be real, and to follow the rules of perspective so as to have a background from which his figures stood out, and to shade his colors and soften his outlines.
...We have not space to speak of all the Italian cities in which these remains are discovered, and, as Pompeii is the one most frequently visited and that in which a very large proportion of the ancient pictures have been found, I will give a few illustrations from them, and leave the subject of ancient, mural paintings there.
...The variety of subjects at Pompeii is large: there are landscapes, hunting scenes, mythological subjects, numerous kinds of single figures, such as dancing girls, the hours, or seasons, graces, satyrs, and many others; devotional pictures, such as representations of the ancient divinities, lares, penates, and genii; pictures of tavern scenes, of mechanics at their work; rope-dancers and representations of various games, gladiatorial contests, genre scenes from the lives of children, youths, and women, festival ceremonies, actors, poets, and stage scenes, and last, but not least, many caricatures, of which I here give you an example (Fig.
...The lives of the Caracci are not of such interest as to require an account of them here, neither are their works so interesting that we may not leave these artists by saying that they have great consideration as the heads of the Eclectic Academy, and for the work they did in it at an important era in the history of Italian art; but the fruits of their work are shown in that of their scholars rather than in their own paintings, and in this view their influence can scarcely be overvalued.
This is a new and freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to you.
Enjoy this classic work today. These selected paragraphs distill the contents and give you a quick look inside:
They had no knowledge of what we call perspective, that is, the art of representing a variety of objects on one flat surface, and making them appear to be at different distances from us-and you will see from the illustrations given here that their drawing and their manner of expressing the meaning of what they painted were very crude.
...There are writers who trace the origin and progress of Greek painting from the very earliest times; but I shall begin with Apollodorus, who is spoken of as the first Greek painter worthy of fame, because he was the first one who knew how to make his pictures appear to be real, and to follow the rules of perspective so as to have a background from which his figures stood out, and to shade his colors and soften his outlines.
...We have not space to speak of all the Italian cities in which these remains are discovered, and, as Pompeii is the one most frequently visited and that in which a very large proportion of the ancient pictures have been found, I will give a few illustrations from them, and leave the subject of ancient, mural paintings there.
...The variety of subjects at Pompeii is large: there are landscapes, hunting scenes, mythological subjects, numerous kinds of single figures, such as dancing girls, the hours, or seasons, graces, satyrs, and many others; devotional pictures, such as representations of the ancient divinities, lares, penates, and genii; pictures of tavern scenes, of mechanics at their work; rope-dancers and representations of various games, gladiatorial contests, genre scenes from the lives of children, youths, and women, festival ceremonies, actors, poets, and stage scenes, and last, but not least, many caricatures, of which I here give you an example (Fig.
...The lives of the Caracci are not of such interest as to require an account of them here, neither are their works so interesting that we may not leave these artists by saying that they have great consideration as the heads of the Eclectic Academy, and for the work they did in it at an important era in the history of Italian art; but the fruits of their work are shown in that of their scholars rather than in their own paintings, and in this view their influence can scarcely be overvalued.
108 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
About the author
Clara Erskine Clement Waters
195 booksClara Erskine Clement Waters (1834-1916) was an American author and traveler. She was the daughter of John and Harriet Bethiah (Godfrey) Erskine, and her father was a businessman. She was educated at home by private tutors. In 1852, she married James Hazen Clement, a businessman. They moved to Newton, Massachusetts. After his death, in 1882, she married Edwin Forbes Waters, author and owner of the Boston Daily Advertiser. They resided in Cambridge. She made extensive tours in Europe, visited Palestine and Turkey in 1868, and traveled around the world in 1883/4. Her travels continued later in life.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 26, 2024
Ostensibly, this is a book, perhaps a textbook is aimed at “beginners and students”. It was published in the last decade of the nineteenth century. The fact that is that it has endured, is still read and indeed still deserves reading is testament to the quality of the writing and the extent of the author’s edition.
As with all critical studies from the past, it is always the things that are omitted that are of most interest. Anything vaguely contemporary, it seems, was not worthy of inclusion. The section on Britain, for instance, does not refer to the pre-Raphaelites. That on France does not mention Impressionism, or the Brabizon school, despite the fact that they were by the end of the century almost old hat.
What is also interesting in such works is to note how aesthetic judgment might have changed. Three examples give the flavour of these changes.
The art of the Middle Ages, for instance, is nearly dismissed. Clara Waters writes: “The painting of this period has a little to attract attention. If regarded only from an artistic standpoint, for we may truly say that, comparing it with the Greek art which had preceded it, or with the Italian art, which followed it, that of the Middle Ages had no claim to the beautiful.”
On Tintoretto, she opines that “his best pictures are slightly treated, and others are coarse and unfinished in the manner of painting. His portraits seem to be his best works, probably because they are more carefully finished.”
The biggest change in values between the 1890s and now comes in a discussion on Caravaggio. It is the subject matter and its treatment by the artist that disconcert the author. “…naturally, his manner of painting was best suited to scenes from common life, though he made those coarse, and sometimes painful, but when he attempted subjects of a higher order, his works are positively offensive.” It was thus just not possible for an artist to contemplate the inclusion of baser lives with higher ideals. One wonders how it was that the god they worshipped was considered to be concerned with the lives of the poor.
In the nineteenth century one would expect authors to dismiss or exclude anything that does not come from the European or classical traditions. The author does include a short description of Egyptian art, but it is curtly dismissed. No mention is made whatsoever, of course, of continents or cultures that were considered far removed from the European ideal.
Apart from these omissions and changes in aesthetic judgment, what the author does include is both insightful and entertaining. This means that, despite this book being written over century ago, it is still worth reading. What it is not, however, in this age, is a text for beginners. Both is the level of detail presented and the language in which it is described would not hold the attention of a “beginner” in our current era. And this is not a criticism of the text, or indeed of today’s “beginners”. Things have changed, that’s all, and this may be one of the significant differences between our own age and the era when this book was published.
As with all critical studies from the past, it is always the things that are omitted that are of most interest. Anything vaguely contemporary, it seems, was not worthy of inclusion. The section on Britain, for instance, does not refer to the pre-Raphaelites. That on France does not mention Impressionism, or the Brabizon school, despite the fact that they were by the end of the century almost old hat.
What is also interesting in such works is to note how aesthetic judgment might have changed. Three examples give the flavour of these changes.
The art of the Middle Ages, for instance, is nearly dismissed. Clara Waters writes: “The painting of this period has a little to attract attention. If regarded only from an artistic standpoint, for we may truly say that, comparing it with the Greek art which had preceded it, or with the Italian art, which followed it, that of the Middle Ages had no claim to the beautiful.”
On Tintoretto, she opines that “his best pictures are slightly treated, and others are coarse and unfinished in the manner of painting. His portraits seem to be his best works, probably because they are more carefully finished.”
The biggest change in values between the 1890s and now comes in a discussion on Caravaggio. It is the subject matter and its treatment by the artist that disconcert the author. “…naturally, his manner of painting was best suited to scenes from common life, though he made those coarse, and sometimes painful, but when he attempted subjects of a higher order, his works are positively offensive.” It was thus just not possible for an artist to contemplate the inclusion of baser lives with higher ideals. One wonders how it was that the god they worshipped was considered to be concerned with the lives of the poor.
In the nineteenth century one would expect authors to dismiss or exclude anything that does not come from the European or classical traditions. The author does include a short description of Egyptian art, but it is curtly dismissed. No mention is made whatsoever, of course, of continents or cultures that were considered far removed from the European ideal.
Apart from these omissions and changes in aesthetic judgment, what the author does include is both insightful and entertaining. This means that, despite this book being written over century ago, it is still worth reading. What it is not, however, in this age, is a text for beginners. Both is the level of detail presented and the language in which it is described would not hold the attention of a “beginner” in our current era. And this is not a criticism of the text, or indeed of today’s “beginners”. Things have changed, that’s all, and this may be one of the significant differences between our own age and the era when this book was published.
September 3, 2023
An overview of artistic developments in 3 volumes (painting, sculpture, architecture), but from a European perspective only. The facts presented are now all available on Wikipedia and the text serves only to enhance these facts with some anecdotes. Very little about the artists themselves is provided, for example their younger years or their influence on the direction of art. Art developments themselves are for the benefit of brevity glossed over and as a result have a habit of perpetuating myths surrounding these developments. For historical purposes only.
Available on Project Gutenberg.
Available on Project Gutenberg.
March 6, 2026
Kitapta resim, heykel, mimari hakkında karışık a1 düzeyde bilgiler var sanmıştım ama kitap neredeyse tamamen mimariyle ilgili. Mimariye ilgim aşırı olmadığı için yer yer koptum ama bence mimariyle ilgii olan insanlar beğenecektir.
İtalya kısımlarını İtalya'da gezerken okuyabildiğim için 2026 şubat sana çok teşekkür ederim!!!
İtalya kısımlarını İtalya'da gezerken okuyabildiğim için 2026 şubat sana çok teşekkür ederim!!!
February 7, 2023
Very informative. Gives u a bird’s eye view. The you can dive into whatever area or artist you want to know more about in detail. Presents it as a good lecturer would. Interesting. Focusing on the important stuff. Well done for a very broad topic.
August 2, 2015
Very good book for beginners and art seekeres. It talks about the history of art in various countries and kingdoms. I whished my version had the illustrated pictures that mentioned in the book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews